National Council of Urban Indian Health
1 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Suite 800-D
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 202.544.0344
What is Project Firstline?
NCUIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating on infection prevention and control (IPC) training initiatives for frontline healthcare personnel.
CDC’s Project Firstline is a collaborative of diverse healthcare and public health partners that aims to provide engaging, innovative, and effective infection control training to more than 6 million healthcare personnel in the United States. Project Firstline will provide every person working in a U.S. healthcare facility a foundational understanding of infection control to protect the nation from infectious disease threats such as COVID-19. The project will provide:
- Core Training
- Engagement
- Mentorship
- Build Public Health Capacity
- Encourage Educational Innovation in Infection Prevention & Control Training
The National Council of Urban Indian Health Project Firstline is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a National initiative recognized as Project Firstline. For more information, visit: https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/projectfirstline/index.html
About NCUIH’s Project Firstline Activities
This project is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $1,500,000 with 100 percent funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
Infection prevention and control, or IPC, is the practice of using practical, evidence-based strategies to stop or slow the spread of communicable infections, thus protecting the health of community members including patients and healthcare workers. Continue reading to learn more about the different ways NCUIH promotes IPC.
IPC Assistance Center
Click here to go to the IPC Assistance Center.
The National Council of Urban Indian Health is now offering IPC assistance to UIOs:
With the IPC Assistance Center, you will be able to:
- Submit IPC cases to share your experiences and lessons learned
- Access IPC resources such as past webinars, template IPC training presentations, and more
- Discuss questions about real-time scenarios with other UIOs on the IPC forum
- Interact with and learn from our UIO champions (and learn how your UIO can apply in the future)
To learn more about this new resource, contact IPC@ncuih.org.
To sign up for the assistance center, use the QR code or this link.
Training Videos
Downloadable Resources
In an effort to make more culturally relevant material, the Project Firstline Team has created materials that Urban Indian Organizations can print and use in their facilities. The first is a graphic featuring a community health worker reminding our health care warriors to use appropriate PPE, practice hand hygiene, and clean high-touch surfaces. The other is a checklist that can be printed and used in transportation vehicles. We have provided several items that health care workers should consider before, during, and after patient transportation. We recommend laminating it or placing it in a plastic sheet protector. Click on the graphics below to download them.
Additional resources on cleaning and disinfection from the CDC:
- How to Read a Disinfectant Label – infographic
- Preventing Transmission of Viral Respiratory Pathogens – informational
- Infection Control Measures for Respiratory Viruses – infographic
- Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings – informational, includes education courses
- Cleaning and Disinfecting in Community Settings – informational
IPC Champions
The following Urban Indian Organizations have participated as past or present infection prevention and control systems “Champions”, supported by NCUIH and the Centers for Disease and Control to address emerging and reemerging infectious disease outbreaks such as Covid-19 and influenza.
Project Firstline Year 1 Champions:
Project Firstline Year 2 Champions:
Project Firstline Year 3 Champions:
NCUIH Project Firstline – Year 3 Fellows
The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working to provide Native American students with the opportunity to increase the work being done in urban Native public health. Project Firstline is a national partnership of nonprofit organizations and academic institutions that aims to provide infection prevention and control training to more than 6 million healthcare personnel in the United States, including Urban Indian Organization (UIO) healthcare workers. Training content will include foundational information on infection control to protect the nation from infectious disease threats.
Daliyah Killsback (they/them/theirs) is a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Nation and a descendant of the Assonet Band of the Wampanoag Nation. Daliyah is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at the University of Chicago. Their research focuses on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes’ water rights and the jurisdictional complexities of the Flathead Reservation. Daliyah is the former Deputy Political Director for Western Native Voice, a Montana-based organization that advocates for the democratic rights of American Indians and tribal sovereignty on state and federal policy levels. Daliyah’s policy work has included healthcare, education, tribal fishing and water rights, voting rights, criminal justice, MMIW, and LGBTQIA2S+ rights.
Breanna Wheeler (she/her) is an NCUIH fellow through the CDC’s Project Firstline program. She is a current senior at the University of California, Berkeley majoring in Native American Studies, and she works as an evaluation assistant at Native American Health Center in Oakland, CA. She is a second-generation adoptee from Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.
Breanna is excited to be taking part in Project Firstline this year and to be learning more about the variety of ways that infection control prevention is promoted in healthcare settings at urban Indian organizations. Breanna’s interests in public health range from the importance of access to traditional wellness and cultural practices for Native communities, to the specific role that incarceration and foster care/adoption play in the chronic health conditions of Native populations. Breanna is still early in her career and experience with public health and is excited to engage with different issue areas within the field and expand her knowledge and interests.
Breanna’s goal is to pursue a Masters of Public Health degree in the next few years and to continue working with urban Native communities and advocating for their health, resiliency, and wellbeing in the future.
Webinars & ECHOs
Click the links below to watch our recorded Webinar and ECHO series and learn more about Infection Prevention and Control!
NCUIH Native Healthcast
This is the National Council of Urban Indian Health’s (NCUIH) podcast platform which is promoting infection prevention and control education topics for our frontline warriors and healthcare team members through collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention via Project Firstline.
IPC Training Opportunities